A pensioner from the north-west revealed that a call to an optician helped to save his sight.

The North-West Evening Mail reported that 68-year-old William Eathorne attempted to book an appointment with his local optician after he started suffering vision problems.

After describing his symptoms, Mr Eathorne was told to take swift action by the eyecare professional.

“I told him I was about to have my tea and he said, “Mr Eathorne, forget your tea – get a taxi and get to the hospital immediately and don’t be fobbed off”,” he told the newspaper.

Mr Eathorne, a former crane driver from Walney, went on to reveal that the hospital discovered he was suffering from a detached retina in his left eye and other problems. He was successfully treated for his eye conditions.

In a simila article, Cheshire resident Lucy Hayes told the Daily Mirror that a routine eye exam led to her being diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Those who have developed Diabetes Blurry Vision have been given some useful advice on the condition.

Ourmidland.com said that those who suffer from this will completely lose their eyesight if they do not take action.

The news source said: “Diabetes Blurry Vision is a serious warning that something must be done fast.”

Contact lens wearers were told that this disorder is caused by high blood sugar, which eyes are particularly vulnerable to.

However, the news source said that, although the condition cannot be reversed by medication, a special diet may be able to solve the problem. The Spirit Happy Diet claims to help people reverse type 2 diabetes by normalising blood sugar levels.

In addition, contact lens wearers can look after their eye health by making regular visits to an optician, Phil Moss, commercial vehicle manager at the insurance company Swinton, recently said.

He spoke out after a poll by the company discovered that a number of people who operate commercial vehicles have failed to have eye tests and could have defective eyesight that has yet to be spotted.

While contact lenses have improved the lives of millions of people around the world in recent decades, allowing them to see clearly without the need for sometimes inconvenient spectacles, there has at times been some doubt about their safety.

The vast majority of eye patients experience nothing but comfort and ease when choosing contact lenses over glasses, but there is still a small minority who may have run into problems, often arising from a bacterial infection.

However, researchers at National Jewish Health and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have announced the discovery of a new method to boost the fight against such afflictions.

It is also thought that the breakthrough could have applications for bacterial infections associated with severe burns and conditions such as cystic fibrosis. Their findings were published online in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science.

Senior author Jerry Nick, associate professor of medicine at National Jewish Health, commented: “Infections by the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa can cause severe scarring and vision loss when they spread to the cornea.

“By breaking apart a molecular scaffolding that encases the organisms and makes them more difficult to eradicate, we were able to significantly reduce bacterial infection of the cornea,” he added.

Under normal circumstances, the eye fights infections through a variety of defence mechanisms, such as blinking and tears, which help to remove bacterial organisms from its surface.

However, contact lenses can occasionally hinder the eye”s effectiveness at doing so, thus enabling bacteria to creep under the surface of the lens as it rests against the patient”s cornea.

If those rogue bacteria infect the corneal tissue, they can destroy its delicate cells, leading to a risk of scarring or vision loss. This condition is known as microbial keratitis and luckily only affects around two to four lens wearers per 10,000 each year.

While eye infections can usually be treated with antibiotics, it can sometimes be difficult to eliminate the bacteria on contact lenses, particularly when they form what is known as a biofilm. This is essentially a matrix or “web” that harbours and encases communities of the organisms, making it harder to get rid of them.

The researchers were able to confirm earlier research findings, which revealed that cellular debris from immune cells fighting the infection actually provide the “raw materials” needed for the biofilm to appear.

With this in mind, the scientists used specially-selected enzymes and chemicals to break down the bonds of these elements that support the hardy film.

This treatment was found to reduce biofilms on the contact lenses by almost 80 per cent, as well as reducing infection of the cornea by more than 40 per cent. Furthermore, the researchers saw no evidence of any harm caused by the breakthrough treatments.

Danielle Robertson, first author of the study and assistant professor of ophthalmology at the University of Texas Southwestern, described the results as “very promising”.

“[The findings] point to potentially new methods for removing bacterial biofilms from contact lenses surfaces, thereby reducing the risk of microbial keratitis, as well as for the treatment of infections by Pseudomonas that are associated with cystic fibrosis and severe burns,” she added.

A problem that affects many people as they get older is failing eyesight but there are a number of steps that can be taken to try to limit vision loss.

Recent research from the American Optometric Association found that 46 per cent of respondents indicate eyesight is the sense they worry about losing the most.

People looking to preserve their eyesight and limit vision loss in old age need to begin taking proactive steps as early as in their 20s.

Eating foods rich in six nutrients – antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, essential fatty acids, vitamins C and E and the mineral zinc can boost eye health throughout life.

Foods rich in these nutrients include broccoli, spinach, oranges and peas.

Smoking is also highlighted as a bad habit which exposes the eyes to high levels of harmful chemicals and increases the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration and cataracts in the future.

Wearing sunglasses or contact lenses to protect against harmful UV rays is also recommended.

In an advice column in the Sun, Wellbeing”s nutritionist Amanda Ursell, recommended eating eggs to reduce the risk of macular degeneration as they contain the super nutrient lutein.